


First Snow

by Somewhere_overthe_Reylo



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Co-workers, F/M, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Office Romance, complete fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28488360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somewhere_overthe_Reylo/pseuds/Somewhere_overthe_Reylo
Summary: Rey has never seen snow and her co-worker, Ben, is determined to make it a special first for her.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 82
Collections: World Between Worlds Holiday Cookie Exchange 2020





	First Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tmwillson3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwillson3/gifts).



> This is my treat for the WBW Cookie Exchange! Fluff is hard for me so I hope this is sweet enough to make you smile <3
> 
> Not Beta'd so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Now that this is off anon, this is a gift for Tmwillson3 <3

Ben was smitten the moment he saw her walk past his desk in her smart pencil skirt and silk top. She took the empty cubicle next to him, the one that Snap had occupied during his time at Alliance Media. He was painfully shy and it was almost a week before he managed a “Good Morning, Rey,” when she sat down to start her day.

It was almost a month before he was making friendly chatter—small talk with clever anecdotes and jokes. He quickly learned that her smile could help him work through the monotony of the never ending final hours of the day.

Their friendship came easy. They timed their breaks to coincide and talked about their current Netflix binges while drinking mediocre coffee from the Keurig in the breakroom. They spent lunches together at the food truck court across the street or sharing tupperwares full of Ben’s leftovers when it was close to payday and she was broke. 

Ben’s life had been upended and he didn’t mind at all. He was waking up before his alarm most mornings and the existential dread of going to work was gone from his life. Weekends became a loathsome time because that meant no Rey for two days. He spent those weekends wishing he could find the courage to say something to her that might change that. 

***

You wouldn’t know it from her accent, but she grew up in the desert. Jakku. Land of eternal sunshine and very little rain. Snow wasn’t a part of her vocabulary. Until now. A cold front had been threatening to move in, bringing the first snowstorm of the winter. Her first snow. 

At lunch on Wednesday, she was thrumming with excitement. She flashed her phone at Ben, open to the weather app, showing the forecast for the storm projected to hit the city on Friday. In a nearly hysterical voice she chirped, “Ben... _ SNOW!!  _ Can you believe it? Of course you can...Sorry. I’m probably the only one in a fifty mile radius excited for this storm.” She flushed and looked embarrassed. She looked sheepishly at him and stowed the phone in her bag. 

Moving to the city had been a culture shock at first and she had many awkward moments when she first arrived. Befriending Ben had saved her. When she started at Alliance, he had been quick to answer all of her questions about the city no matter how silly or mundane. 

“I’m actually looking forward to it! I’m excited  _ because _ you’re excited! I mean aside from the city shutting down, transportation grinding to a halt, and the store shelves getting cleaned out, winter storms are definitely a good time!” Ben deadpanned as he took a bite of his panini. Rey had to stifle her laugh with her hand.

Rey had been quick to warm up to the large, aloof man that everyone in the office seemed to overlook. Ben was shy but his size kept him from blending into the background. She was the only one he went out of his way to talk to and they had fallen into an easy and comfortable rapport. He was ridiculously good looking. His long dark hair always looked perfectly styled, his expensive suits crisply pressed, and he smelled like a leather shop in the woods after a rain. He was perfect and so far out of her league—a country mouse living paycheck to paycheck, trying to make it in the city with her thrifted business casual clothes and shoebox sized shared apartment.

“It’s just...I’m so excited and I don’t really care!” she shrieked and danced in her seat, drumming her feet hard against the peeling linoleum of the break room floor and pounding her fists on the table.

***

Ben leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily. Rey’s raw and unbridled enthusiasm was refreshing in a city whose mood collectively darkened like the sky during a storm. He really was excited. More excited than he had been about anything in a long time. A plan started forming in his mind.

Rey’s excitement continued to build over the next two days, culminating in a loud squeal from her cubicle when she finally saw fat flakes falling from the steel gray sky that afternoon. Rey ran and stood at the floor to ceiling windows, her eyes full of wonder and she watched the snow fall. She turned to look at Ben and motioned for him to join her. 

They had just returned from lunch, so he would have to wait until their afternoon break to pull off his plan. He walked over to the window and stood by Rey, oblivious to the stares of their co-workers. 

“ _ Bennnnnnn! _ It’s  _ snowwwing!!”  _ she whisper screamed, grabbing his hand and shaking it, hardly able to keep her excitement in check.

Ben gave her hand a soft squeeze and leaned down to whisper, “Meet me in the kitchen for our break in 30 minutes. Bring your coat.”

Rey’s brow furrowed in confusion. Still looking perplexed, she nodded at Ben, releasing his hand before going back to her seat with a spring in her step.

Ben took a deep breath and sat down. He typed up a quick email to his mother and hit send. A few minutes later, he smiled to himself as he read the response.

When it was finally time, Rey stood and put on her coat. Ben got up and led her to the break room where two mugs topped with whipped cream sat on the counter. He grabbed them both and handed her one. “I hope you like Hot Chocolate?” he said with a smile.

Rey nodded and brought the warm mug up to her lips, darting her tongue out to taste the sweet cream.

“Let’s go. There’s something I want to show you.” Ben started walking toward the elevator, Rey following close behind him. Once they were in, Rey reached for the street level button, before Ben’s arm shot out and hit the top floor before she could could make contact with the panel.

“Where are we going?” she asked with a hint of sadness in her voice. “I thought we were going to see the snow.”

“We  _ are _ going to see the snow,” he said with a smile. “We’re just going up.”

Rey’s eyes widened, and she stepped back against the wall, taking a sip of her cocoa. They rode the elevator in silence stealing glances at each other. 

When the elevator stopped, Ben motioned for Rey to go ahead of him. There wasn’t anything on this floor besides the roof access door and a utility closet, so she walked toward the roof access and reached for the door.

She gasped when she pulled it open. Rey had never been up to the roof but she assumed this wasn’t the normal state of it. Fairy lights had been strung around a small dry alcove where a wooden table and two chairs sat, creating a cozy nook and a windbreak. Snow had accumulated into pristine white mounds a few feet away and Ben could tell Rey was dying run to it.

Rey started to giggle. “This is amazing, Ben. Really.” She looked up at him with a vibrant smile and tears dotting the corners of her eyes. “No one has ever done anything like this for me. Ever.”

“Really? I wanted this to be special for you. Your first snow and all,” he looked down at her sheepishly, satisfied that he was able to pull this off. He grabbed her mug and went to set it down on the table when he heard the door creak open behind them.

Leia Organa, the head of Alliance Media appeared in the doorway, holding a pair of snow boots and gloves.

“Miss Organa! I—” Rey stuttered, afraid they were getting caught doing something they shouldn’t be.

“Mom! Thanks! I almost forgot!” Ben walked over and took the bag from Leia. 

“Sure, Benny! You two have fun and enjoy your afternoon off!” She back through the doorway with a wave and a wink.

“ _ What _ ?! Leia Organa is your  _ mum? _ How did I not know this!” Rey was stunned. She stared, mouth open and eyes wide at Ben.

“Yep, she’s my mom. I thought everyone knew. She wanted to help me with this and I won't hear the end of it if I let you catch cold playing in the snow without boots. She brought these for you. She thought you were about the same size.” He held out the boots and gloves to her. “There. Now you can really enjoy the snow!”

“Ben! I—I can’t believe this! You didn’t have to do all this! But I am SO glad you did! And did I hear Leia correctly? We have the afternoon off?”

“She insisted! She made me promise to keep the cocoa coming so you stayed warm and hydrated and I had to promise her I would teach you how to make a proper snowball.”

Rey grabbed the boots from Ben and surged up to kiss him. Her lips were warm and sweet from the cocoa. Ben wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, deepening the kiss. Rey let out a soft moan and pressed against him.

When Ben broke the kiss he smiled down at her showing his crooked teeth. “We have all afternoon and while I would be fine doing this, but you might be sad if you missed the snow.”

Rey smiled at him. “We  _ do _ have all afternoon, so we have plenty of time for both.”

She grabbed his hand and led him to the table. “How about we finish our cocoa, you show me how to make snowballs, and  _ then _ more kissing?” She flopped down in the chair and set to work putting Leia’s boots on.

Ben took a sip of his cocoa and replied, “Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon.”


End file.
